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Posted 07/06/2006 8:21 pm
The good news is, it probably isn't PVC, and if it is, it's early enough to make it go away completely. The bad news is, depending on what the spots actually are, you might not be able to help them too much.
Before I say anything, I must emphasize that any use of acetone is a extremely flammable process which endangers the area - ensure good ventilation. I do it in the small bathroom with the exhaust fan on.
They might be dip residue spots, likely since most clean-looking Morgans have been dipped at one time or another. You can likely make them go away, but you may not be happy with the result. Try acetone first, although results are unlikely because acetone can only act on organic compounds. The next possibility is a quick dip in E-Zest, but remember that this is an acidic compound which works by removing actual metal. From that point onward, the coin will be considered to have been "cleaned" if anyone but NCS does it.
Milk spots are another possibility. Early in the minting process, older coin planchets were washed in an acidic solution of cream of tartar. Different compounds are used today, but the process is the same. Occasionally, they were insufficiently rinsed. As a result, the coin was struck with some of the original mint wash stuck to the planchet; the resulting spots, called milk spots, are extremely difficult to remove because they're struck-through and practically part of the surface of the metal. Some believe that they're from contamination after the wash but before the strike; I lean towards the first explanation because milk spots tend to look the same on any coins minted of the same materials.
An acetone wash might help. Not likely, but some post-strike wash residue will come off this way. The best I'm aware of is a soak in a 25% solution of MS70, a coin cleaning agent available online (Google it up). The normal application method of MS70 is to rub it in with a Q-tip - MS70 is a soap, not a solvent - but some are leery about using a Q-tip near a proof coin, for instance. Dipping will do it, but only if you destroy the coin doing it.
Sometimes, even if you can remove them, you're left with a spot of a different color beneath, anyways.
Here's what I'd do if it were my coin. Acetone dip first - give it a day to soak. Pull it and immediately rinse in warm running water, alternating sides every few seconds so that each side gets at least 30 seconds' rinse total. If you're beyond paranoid, finish with an ethanol rinse - that stuff will remove any minute residue left and evaporates so quickly that spotting is unlikely.
If that doesn't do it, I'd dip it in MS70 to get the whole surface wet, and then "scrub" it with a Q-tip already wetted with MS70. Then an immediate warm water rinse, as above.
Last resort: E-Zest. You'll need rubber tongs for this dip, to allow the compound to evenly hit the coin. Hold it by the edge with the tongs, and give it no more than 1-2 seconds in the dip. Do that once and once only. Immediately rinse the living snot out of it with everything you can find to rinse with. Real fanatics use distilled water; I settle for warm tap water, then acetone, then water again.
If that doesn't do it, it's not going to get done.
If your coin has any significant value, ignore everything I've said and send it in to NCS. I don't recognize any of the real value-added VAMs in your 1921-S; for that coin, they're all visible to the eye in photos as good as the ones you're taking.
My guess is the coin would grade MS63-64-ish. At MS65, a 1921-S is at the level of getting NCS involved.
Before I say anything, I must emphasize that any use of acetone is a extremely flammable process which endangers the area - ensure good ventilation. I do it in the small bathroom with the exhaust fan on.
They might be dip residue spots, likely since most clean-looking Morgans have been dipped at one time or another. You can likely make them go away, but you may not be happy with the result. Try acetone first, although results are unlikely because acetone can only act on organic compounds. The next possibility is a quick dip in E-Zest, but remember that this is an acidic compound which works by removing actual metal. From that point onward, the coin will be considered to have been "cleaned" if anyone but NCS does it.
Milk spots are another possibility. Early in the minting process, older coin planchets were washed in an acidic solution of cream of tartar. Different compounds are used today, but the process is the same. Occasionally, they were insufficiently rinsed. As a result, the coin was struck with some of the original mint wash stuck to the planchet; the resulting spots, called milk spots, are extremely difficult to remove because they're struck-through and practically part of the surface of the metal. Some believe that they're from contamination after the wash but before the strike; I lean towards the first explanation because milk spots tend to look the same on any coins minted of the same materials.
An acetone wash might help. Not likely, but some post-strike wash residue will come off this way. The best I'm aware of is a soak in a 25% solution of MS70, a coin cleaning agent available online (Google it up). The normal application method of MS70 is to rub it in with a Q-tip - MS70 is a soap, not a solvent - but some are leery about using a Q-tip near a proof coin, for instance. Dipping will do it, but only if you destroy the coin doing it.
Sometimes, even if you can remove them, you're left with a spot of a different color beneath, anyways.
Here's what I'd do if it were my coin. Acetone dip first - give it a day to soak. Pull it and immediately rinse in warm running water, alternating sides every few seconds so that each side gets at least 30 seconds' rinse total. If you're beyond paranoid, finish with an ethanol rinse - that stuff will remove any minute residue left and evaporates so quickly that spotting is unlikely.
If that doesn't do it, I'd dip it in MS70 to get the whole surface wet, and then "scrub" it with a Q-tip already wetted with MS70. Then an immediate warm water rinse, as above.
Last resort: E-Zest. You'll need rubber tongs for this dip, to allow the compound to evenly hit the coin. Hold it by the edge with the tongs, and give it no more than 1-2 seconds in the dip. Do that once and once only. Immediately rinse the living snot out of it with everything you can find to rinse with. Real fanatics use distilled water; I settle for warm tap water, then acetone, then water again.
If that doesn't do it, it's not going to get done.
If your coin has any significant value, ignore everything I've said and send it in to NCS. I don't recognize any of the real value-added VAMs in your 1921-S; for that coin, they're all visible to the eye in photos as good as the ones you're taking.
My guess is the coin would grade MS63-64-ish. At MS65, a 1921-S is at the level of getting NCS involved.
